A portable, reusable medication dispensing assembly which has communication capability to improve medication adherence is disclosed. An electromechanical apparatus sequentially delivers dosage form packages from a compartment in a housing to a dose-ready area in the housing. A microprocessor-based controller is reprogrammable with contact and prescription data. The controller controls the electromechanical apparatus to sequentially deliver the dosage form packages at prescribed times or time intervals to the dose-ready area based on the prescription data. The controller generates and stores a set of event data based on when the dosage form packages are ready to be released in the dose-ready area and whether and when the dosage form packages have been released in the dose-ready area. Communication apparatus is capable of wirelessly transmitting the event data via a publicly-accessible network to a remote database and to wirelessly transmit event notifications via the network based on the prescription and contact data.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
2. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a mechanism to release a single dosage form package from the medication strip at the dose-ready area, the mechanism supplying a signal indicating the release.
3. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the event data includes medication-missed event data.
4. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication apparatus is capable of transmitting a plurality of notifications including a medication-missed reminder, a medication-taken signal and a medication-ready signal.
5. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a locking mechanism to lock the assembly and a sensor to sense when the locking mechanism is tampered with and generate a corresponding signal wherein the controller generates tamper event data in response to the signal.
6. The assembly as claimed in claim 5, wherein the communication apparatus is capable of wirelessly transmitting the tamper event data.
7. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller is reprogrammable with biometric data and wherein the assembly further comprises a biometric sensor to capture biometric input data, the controller comparing the biometric input data to programmed biometric data to identify an authorized user of the assembly.
9. The assembly as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a mechanism to release a single dosage form package from the medication strip at the dose-ready area, the mechanism supplying a signal indicating the release.
10. The assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the event data includes medication-missed event data.
11. The assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the communication apparatus is capable of transmitting a plurality of notifications including a medication-missed reminder, a medication-taken signal and a medication-ready signal.
12. The assembly as claimed in claim 8, further comprising a locking mechanism to lock the assembly and a sensor to sense when the locking mechanism is tampered with and generate a corresponding signal wherein the controller generates tamper event data in response to the signal.
13. The assembly as claimed in claim 12, wherein the communication apparatus is capable of wirelessly transmitting the tamper event data.
14. The assembly as claimed in claim 8, wherein the controller is programmed with biometric data and wherein the assembly further comprises a biometric sensor to capture biometric input data, the controller comparing the biometric input data to the programmed biometric data to identify an authorized user of the assembly.
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December 11, 2019
November 1, 2022
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